Anything being used as a curtain that is not a curtain is just not practical.

The fact remains that none of them are going to look great, and uncovered or poorly covered windows are one of the biggest signs that you don't have your life together. Make sure that's not the case.

Anything that looks like it would belong in a bar should stay there.

The rule goes like this: If it looks like it belongs in a bar, it should stay there. Neon beer-brand signs, beer-branded mirrors, and bar games are always going to make your apartment look like a bar.

Is that really the aesthetic you want to create?

A mattress without any kind of bed frame is inexcusable.

You're an adult now. Unless you're in some temporary or perilous financial situation, you should have something to put your bed on. There's no way to get around it, and no amount of cleverness is going to make it look acceptable.

Get a real bed.

Leave the empty liquor bottles as decoration at the frat house.

When you were in college, empty liquor bottles as decoration signified a night to remember (or forget).

When you're an adult, they mean you forgot to take out the recycling.

Christmas lights out when it's not the holidays is just tacky.

String lights are just tacky when you're not in college.

If you want to set the mood, get a light dimmer.

Unframed posters on the wall have always been less than ideal.

It's great that you think "Abbey Road" is a masterpiece, but a wrinkly unframed poster taped to your wall doesn't need to say that for you.

While it's a popular substitute for art that actually looks nice, you're better off just leaving the walls bare.

A tapestry in place of framed art is probably going to give off the wrong impression.

Another popular covering for bare walls are tapestries. Unfortunately, they give off a strong hippie vibe that is no longer cute after college.

A rack showing off your CD or DVD collection is not as impressive as you think it is.

Having a strong CD or DVD collection is not impressive in 2017. We've all moved on to digital, and a huge rack of Criterion DVDs sitting in the middle of your living room signifies you just haven't.

Transition to digital or at least make your collection less apparent. No one wants to see that.

Any kind of fake plant or greenery is suffocating.

Fake plants seem like a great idea — no maintenance required, and you still get a little bit of greenery in your living space.

Unfortunately, there's nothing more disappointing to anyone visiting your apartment than touching a plant and finding out it's fake. Avoid that fake-out and look into real, low-maintenance plants that won't be hard to keep alive.

Plastic anything.

Plastic is another big tip-off that you're not fully grown-up yet.

Avoid plastic shelving, or really, plastic furniture of any kind.

A futon signifies you're still in a post-grad mindset.

A futon is incredibly useful — when you need extra furniture for your spare room. The fact remains that no one particularly likes futons, but they're cheap and heavy, so we're stuck with them after college is over.

Avoid falling into that trap and get a real couch. Every single one of your guests will thank you.